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Coming Soon: Ring.to a new OBiTALK ASP with Absolutely FREE Calling!

Started by yosif, May 15, 2014, 10:46:53 PM

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giqcass

Quote from: HDFLucky on June 10, 2014, 10:34:07 AM
Is this still going to happen? The original OBi announcement said "within a few weeks," which has already come and gone, and ring.to is not present in the Approved Service Providers list. The ring.to parent site said, "no later than early June" (which ends today), but that page has been removed (it was there yesterday).
I have no inside knowledge but I have experience with another Bandwidth.com project.  To be completely honest I was only giving this a 85% chance of making it in the "few weeks" time frame.  It seems like they get excited about new features and when they don't give a hard deadline you may find yourself waiting.  I still expect them to deliver.  You aren't likely to get an official answer until they are ready to flip the switch so we can only speculate for now.
Long live our new ObiLords!

HDFLucky

Ring.to went live in the portal within the last 2 hours! However, I've already had to open a support ticket with OBi about it. :(

The stated requirements for this deal were to port a number to ring.to (or have a pre-existing number with them), and to secure separate E911 service. I have an existing ring.to number, which ring.to support confirmed I could use with this service when it went live. I also already have E911 service via Phonepower. However, I'm stalled at the second step regarding 911. The only choice via the portal is to either sign-up with Anveo for E911 or associate an existing Anveo 911 account. Clearly, I don't need (or want) either. So now the waiting game begins.

c3c3

I'm not really interested in this, but the "purchase date" is being enforced:

"We're sorry! You do not have an OBi device which is eligible for RingTo service. The following OBi devices are eligible for RingTo service and must have been purchased after May 2014."

HDFLucky

Oh yes, I forgot the part about having purchased an OBi after May 1st (which I did). My intention, if I can get past the current roadblock, is to set up a trunk group using ring.to as an overflow for outgoing only.

HDFLucky

UPDATE: Just received a reply fromOBi, which directed me to this link: http://obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=8233.0

I guess they have a different definition of "Absolutely free" than I do, as it now requires "E911 service from Anveo" not just "911 configured on your OBi device" as had been originally stated (see OP). I know it's only $12, but I'm not shelling out money for nothing - I already have E911 service on my OBi202 via Phonepower.

giqcass

I'm moving this comment to a more appropriate thread.
http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=8145.msg54172#msg54172
Long live our new ObiLords!

HDFLucky

Quote from: HDFLucky on June 12, 2014, 03:26:07 PM
Just received a reply fromOBi, which directed me to this link: http://obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=8233.0
Quoting myself, lol. OBi's silence in that other thread speaks volumes, and following the link in giqcass' thread uncovers this gem. I think it's pretty clear neither side intends to back down from this crazy position. That's fine because I found another solution - CallCentric free DID with a minimal pay-per-call plan. Since I'm only using this as a second choice in a truck group, it works fine and at lower cost.

If you agree that this is unfair and/or crazy, please let OBi know in the thread quoted above, and vote for my suggestion on the Bandwidth (parent company of ring.to) site: https://bandwidth.uservoice.com/forums/172463-feature-requests-improvements/suggestions/6047861-remove-the-requirement-that-obi-customers-obtain-9

Kage

So what happens if you sign up for the Anveo E911 then cancel it the following month, does Ring.to automatically stop working? And how would they know if you disable auto provisioning? 

HDFLucky

Good question, but I'm not willing to be the test case. I depend on the ring.to account for GrooVe IP.

dhobi

So the only way to configure an OBI device for ring.to service is to use the Portal? I don't want Obihai to manage my device, I want to manually do it myself. Is that possible?

giqcass

Quote from: dhobi on July 02, 2014, 12:52:47 PM
So the only way to configure an OBI device for ring.to service is to use the Portal? I don't want Obihai to manage my device, I want to manually do it myself. Is that possible?
It may be possible to set the service up with the portal and then stop using the portal however I don't know if that has been tested.  There is currently no means to manually complete the initial setup that I am aware of at this time.
Long live our new ObiLords!

rastoma

Quote from: Dean on May 16, 2014, 01:43:15 PM
If its free forever why not buy a new obi100 and use it? Your talking $37.98 at Amazon

Exactly.  Sell your old one on Ebay for $25 and you're out less than $20 over all.

rastoma

Quote from: KCChris on May 18, 2014, 10:50:12 AM

I agree that it's not technically bait-and-switch, but it doesn't do much for the attitude of your loyal customer base. 

I keep hearing this term 'loyal customer base' from people who have Obi devices.

Explain to me how you are a 'loyal' customer?

You bought an item from Obi.  End of transaction. (doesn't matter for those who bought 2-3 of them, still one time purchases).

They are ONE TIME purchases.  You never give Obi another penny.  You are now NO LONGER A CUSTOMER.  Obi pays bandwidth for a website that you can log into and make changes to that device.  They never get another penny from you to help pay for that bandwidth or employees.

If you were to buy a new Obi device every year.  Then you would be a 'loyal' customer.

Buying your groceries at one supermarket all the time makes you a 'loyal' customer.  If you traveled across the country and stopped in and Mama Joe's grocery store and bought some hot dogs and you'll probably never step foot in that store again until your next vacation years later, does not make you a 'loyal' customer.

There's no other unlocked ATA that comes even 50% close to an Obitalk box.  So for people to get pissed because they can't free phone service for life because the world changes...... is... I just don't get it.

I understand being irritated about change.  I don't blame you or anyone for that.  But think of the ridiculously low priced/free phone service you have or HAD.  What if we all still had POTS?  How much money would you be out of pocket then? 

I have no problem with selling an old Obi box on Ebay for half or more of what I paid.  Then buy a new one for less than $20 out of pocket and help support Obi to keep this website going and making great deals with other VOIP services.

giqcass

Quote from: rastoma on July 15, 2014, 07:11:34 PM
Explain to me how you are a 'loyal' customer?

I know this comment was not directed at me.  I agree with your point but I think there are exceptions to it.  

Bought the Obi202, Obi110, 2 ObiBT adapters, Obiline adapter(not as good as a 110 for me) recommend Obi devices to others, support ObiHai by providing help to other Obi users(over 1000 posts in this forum), created a Dynamic DNS workaround, and waiting as patiently as possible for the new Obi IP phone.

Do I qualify as a 'loyal' customer?  I think others qualify based on their support for the community.

I don't regularly use hash tags but this post deserves one for violations of the word crimes act of 2014. #wordcrimes
Long live our new ObiLords!

rastoma

Quote from: giqcass on July 16, 2014, 10:54:16 AM
Quote from: rastoma on July 15, 2014, 07:11:34 PM
Explain to me how you are a 'loyal' customer?

I know this comment was not directed at me.  I agree with your point but I think there are exceptions to it.  

Bought the Obi202, Obi110, 2 ObiBT adapters, Obiline adapter(not as good as a 110 for me) recommend Obi devices to others, support ObiHai by providing help to other Obi users(over 1000 posts in this forum), created a Dynamic DNS workaround, and waiting as patiently as possible for the new Obi IP phone.

Do I qualify as a 'loyal' customer?  I think others qualify based on their support for the community.


Yes I would consider you a loyal customer from your explanation.  But 99.9% of the other people that are complaining that it's a bait and switch, that they were lied to about having GV for life (even though it was never advertised as that), that Obi is forgetting about their loyal customers..... are NOT loyal customers... not even close.  They are the ones that I were referring to that bought one box a year or two ago and expect Obi to bend over backwards for free for the rest of their existence.

jcrouch

Quote from: rastoma on July 17, 2014, 01:51:29 PM
Quote from: giqcass on July 16, 2014, 10:54:16 AM
Quote from: rastoma on July 15, 2014, 07:11:34 PM
Explain to me how you are a 'loyal' customer?

I know this comment was not directed at me.  I agree with your point but I think there are exceptions to it.  

Bought the Obi202, Obi110, 2 ObiBT adapters, Obiline adapter(not as good as a 110 for me) recommend Obi devices to others, support ObiHai by providing help to other Obi users(over 1000 posts in this forum), created a Dynamic DNS workaround, and waiting as patiently as possible for the new Obi IP phone.

Do I qualify as a 'loyal' customer?  I think others qualify based on their support for the community.


Yes I would consider you a loyal customer from your explanation.  But 99.9% of the other people that are complaining that it's a bait and switch, that they were lied to about having GV for life (even though it was never advertised as that), that Obi is forgetting about their loyal customers..... are NOT loyal customers... not even close.  They are the ones that I were referring to that bought one box a year or two ago and expect Obi to bend over backwards for free for the rest of their existence.

100% agreed. When I bought my Obi I new that the free GV service was entirely dependent on Google keeping that service available and that Obi had little say in it. I know clever advertising when I see it, and I am immune to it. Obi was absolutely 'riding' on Google Voice, no way could they have become so prevelant without it. But I don't blame them, its just good business sense. In this world you need to be a smart consumer or you will continually get screwed and/or be dissapointed. Not saying Obi screwed anyone, but there do seem to be many, many people that are dissapointed... and that is entirely there oen fault.

he_the_great

Well, it gets worse. Google Voice was not a guaranteed free service either. They've reserved the right to start charging if they feel international calling is not supporting local calls (hehe, I like "local calls" meaning within North America).

dhobi

GV still works OK with the OBI, so I will milk it until it stops. I think I use under 100 min./mo. so it's not like I do a lot of damage anyway.

Lavarock7

Quote from: jcrouch on July 18, 2014, 06:49:44 AM
Obi was absolutely 'riding' on Google Voice, no way could they have become so prevelant without it.

I hope I got the quote attributed right (I deleted all embedded quotes).

I disagree. If anyone has looked at adapter prices, the Obis offer a lot of service features with or without GV. While you can take a BasicTalk unit for $10 and hack it, that does not quite sit well with an end customer.

Even with out GV's free service, I would have been buying Obi's as my solution.

I have 2 of my own, bought another for my Sister, another as a birthday gift for a friend, encouraged two neighbors to buy one and one then bought another for a non-profit he works with. Having bought one, I guess I became a "loyal customer" whether ObiHai knows it or not.
My websites: Kona Coffee: http://itskona.com and Web Hosting: http://planetaloha.info<br />A simplified Voip explanation: http://voip.planet-aloha.com

giqcass

Quote from: Lavarock7 on July 18, 2014, 10:18:06 PM
I disagree. If anyone has looked at adapter prices, the Obis offer a lot of service features with or without GV. While you can take a BasicTalk unit for $10 and hack it, that does not quite sit well with an end customer.
I agree!  I have 1 IP phone and 6 ATA devices. The 2 Obi devices I have are my favorite because of versatility and function.  The non Obi devices frustrate me with their lack of features.  The one thing ObiHai devices do lack is the ability to set distinctive ringing for certain numbers in a simple way.  Currently I route the calls to a separate SP slot to accomplish that.  All of this function at a price equal to or below that of most unlocked ATA devices by other manufacturers. To get more versatility you need a full blown PBX.
Long live our new ObiLords!